Containers may be used to package and supply a variety of different goods including, but not limited to, beverages and other food products packaged in glass or plastic containers, for example, bottles. These containers are designed and intended to travel through a fairly extensive distribution or supply chain. Some containers are reusable in that the container is intended to be reused numerous times, traveling repeatedly through a distribution or supply chain. For instance, a container manufacturer may first supply a container to a customer (e.g., bottler) who then packages its good(s)/product(s) in the container. The container may then be shipped to a point of sale, for example, a retail store, a restaurant, etc., where a consumer or end user may purchase the good. Subsequent to the consumption or use of the good(s) in the container, the empty container may be returned to a return or collection facility, which may then return the container to either the manufacturer or the initial customer (e.g., bottler). Reusable containers may be cleaned and re-filled by a customer (e.g., bottler) or they may be returned to the container manufacturer at such time that the reusable container has reached the end of its useful life; the container manufacturer may re-melt the container. Non-reusable containers may be returned to the container manufacturer for re-melting. Unfortunately, data regarding how a particular container travels through the distribution chain is either unavailable or limited, and as such, is of little use to the container manufacturer, the initial customer of the container, or to other parties.
A general object of the present disclosure, in accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, is to provide a method and system for tracking and collecting data about containers as the containers travel through various points in a distribution chain using permanent and unique identifiers for each container. Data collected at different points in the distribution chain may be used by the container manufacturer as input to strengthen or lighten the containers or otherwise improve container manufacturing and/or design, or data may be provided (e.g., sold) to the customer (e.g., bottler) to evaluate overall cost of the container, number of times a container is refilled, the appearance and useful life of a container, or other useful metrics or qualitative information, or data may be provided to an interested party who may then use the data for a variety of purposes, for example, to evaluate how one or more containers are being used and/or how they perform in the field, how the manufacturer is compensated for the container, and the like.
The present disclosure embodies a number of aspects that can be implemented separately from, or in combination with, each other.
In accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, a method is provided that includes manufacturing containers, including forming the containers and serializing them with machine-readable codes integral to and irremovable from the containers. The method further comprises using the machine-readable codes to store data associated with the containers, including at least one of a date of container manufacture, a time of container manufacture, production facility data, or container quality data. The method still further comprises supplying the containers to a customer (e.g., bottler), and receiving, from the customer, data obtained from customer-readings of the machine-readable codes and including data relating to the filling of the containers. The method yet still further comprises receiving, from a seller of products including the containers, data obtained from seller-readings of the machine-readable codes and including at least one of a date of container sale, a time of container sale, or seller-specific data. The method further comprises analyzing the data from the customer-readings and seller-readings to determine certain information relating to the containers.
In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method for container manufacturing and design. The method comprises designing and manufacturing containers including forming the containers and serializing each with a unique machine-readable code integral to and irremovable from the containers; and using the machine-readable codes to store data associated with the containers, including at least one of a date of container manufacture, a time of container manufacture, production facility data, or container quality data. The method further comprises supplying the containers to a customer; and receiving, from the customer, data obtained from readings of the machine-readable codes and including data relating to the filling of the containers. The method further includes using the data received from the customer as feedback for modifying a design of the containers to, for example, strengthen or lighten the containers, or for other purposes, for example, to increase speed and/or accuracy in filling, to track authentic products through their end use, and/or to detect counterfeit products that have entered the marketplace.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a system comprising: a central server; a database accessible by the server and providing storage for data relating to containers traveling within a distribution chain; and a plurality of electronic code readers located at different points throughout the distribution chain, the code readers being configured to read unique machine-readable codes carried by the containers and to electronically communicate data obtained as a result of the readings of the machine-readable codes to the central server, and wherein each machine-readable code is representative of data associated with the corresponding container. In an embodiment, the central server is configured to: receive from a customer to whom one or more containers were supplied, data obtained from customer-readings of the machine-readable codes of those containers by one or more of the plurality electronic code reader(s) located at the customer, wherein the data includes data relating to the filling of the containers; receive from a seller of products including the containers, data obtained from seller-readings of the machine-readable codes by another one or more of the electronic code reader(s) located at the seller, wherein the data includes at least one of a date of container sale, a time of container sale, or seller-specific data; and generate a report based on the data from the customer readings and seller readings.
In accordance with yet still another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided method comprising manufacturing containers, including forming the containers and serializing the containers with machine-readable codes integral to and irremovable from the containers, and using the machine-readable codes to store data associated with the containers, including at least one of a date of container manufacture, a time of container manufacture, production facility data, or container quality data. The method further comprises supplying the containers to a customer, and receiving from the customer, data obtained from customer-readings of the machine-readable codes and including data relating to the filling of the containers. The method still further comprises earning revenue from the customer in accordance with an established pricing model, which, in at least some embodiments wherein the containers are reusable containers, takes into account the quantity of refills of the reusable containers.
In accordance with a further aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method comprising manufacturing containers, including forming the containers and serializing the containers with machine-readable codes integral to and irremovable from the containers, and using the machine-readable codes to store data associated with the containers, including, at least one of a date of container manufacture, a time of container manufacture, production facility data, or container quality data. The method further comprises supplying the containers to a customer, and receiving, from the customer, data obtained from customer-readings of the machine-readable codes and including data relating to the filling of the containers. The method still further comprises receiving, from one or more other locations in a distribution chain in which the containers travel, data obtained from readings of the machine-readable codes at those locations. The method yet still further comprises receiving compensation from the customer for the containers in accordance with an established pricing model, and providing the data to the customer in exchange for the compensation received from the customer.